Liu Minxia

    SHENZHEN’S biannual real-estate fair received a record number of visitors during its five days, but analysts predict sales won’t go up markedly until prices drop further.

    The fair, which closed yesterday, received the biggest number of visitors in its eight-year history, the Shenzhen Real Estate Trading Center said yesterday. On the opening day Thursday, the fair received about 100,000 visitors, said the center, the organizer of the fair.

    “I have never seen such a bustling scene during the past spring real-estate fairs,” said a salesman surnamed Wang with China Vanke. “Almost in front of each booth, there is a long queue of people waiting to join the housing estate tours organized by developers.”

    In order to beef up sales, developers offered different kinds of promotions, including discounts of 5,000 yuan (US$715.66) per square meter for some apartments.

    A newly constructed housing estate in Buji, Longgang District, called Slow Town, slashed 50 percent off the original price of an apartment specially made for newly weds.

    However, few homebuyers loosened their purse strings despite the temptations. “Most visitors are only interested in the special offers and few paid attention to other apartments,” said a salesperson with COFCO Property who declined to be named.

    During the first four days of the fair, the number of apartments sold in Shenzhen totaled 208, 151, 185 and 187 respectively, lower than the average daily sales of 280 during the last 10 days of April, according to Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Land Resources and Housing Management.

    Analysts say the real-estate market won’t boom again until developers slash prices to the level of about a year ago.

    “The large crowds were mainly drawn to the fair by the special offerings, and it doesn’t mean the property market is bustling again,” analyst Ye Shiyu said.

    Prices are expected to go down further as a large number of apartments remain unsold in the city, said Gao Haiyan, an expert with Shenzhen Social Sciences Academy. Gao predicted average home prices would drop to 11,000 yuan per square meter, the same level as in late 2006.

    According to the figures released by Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Land Resources and Housing Management, the average price of new apartments sold during the first three days of the fair was around 9,000 yuan, the first time it dropped below the 10,000-yuan benchmark after breaking it in August 2006.

    Some speculators have suffered great losses due to the drop in prices. At present, about 6,000 speculators who purchased about 700,000 square meters of houses are suffering huge losses, and may be forced to sell their apartments soon at low prices in order to prevent their losses from increasing, according to a survey by Ban Qiu, general manager of Shenzhen Xiangshan Consultancy Co.